A Teacher’s Job

May 8, 2018

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The Booker T. Washington school in Manhattan uses test scores for admissions, and its students are mostly white or Asian. Under a new plan, it would have to set aside seats for lower-scoring children.CreditCreditJeenah Moon for The New York Times

Teaching multiple ability levels in a classroom is an integral part of any teacher’s education and training. Plain and simple, it’s our job.

I’ve taught in the suburbs and the city, in public schools and private, in the United States and abroad. All of my classrooms have had a broad range of abilities. Most have had a broader range than those in District 3 in Manhattan, where I teach, where students are being segregated not only by ability level but also by race and socioeconomics.

I am tired of arguments that the proposed changes to middle-school admissions will be hard on teachers. It is a false concern and an excuse to keep things in our district exactly as they are: segregated.